practical living
A kind rewind
Dawes (left) and Brophy, at the El Alamein
Fountain in Kings Cross. Photos: Patrick Avenell
Barry Dawes left Sydney years ago; after a
journey through alcoholism and across Australia,
carer Paul Brophy helped him return in style.
By Patrick Avenell and Dallas Bastian
B
arry Dawes sits at the Apex Cafe on Darlinghurst Road in
Kings Cross. In front of him is a latte. The scene couldn’t
be more different from the last day he spent in Sydney’s
notorious red-light district and epicentre of vice. When he was
here before, almost two decades ago, the strip was grittier, the
denizens more foreboding, the drinks more toxic. Barry’s poison
back then was methylated spirits diluted with Coca-Cola. His hand
shakes too much now to keep a spoon steady, so his carer, Paul
Brophy, pours the sugar to sweeten his coffee.
Dawes is 62. He wears a brown, camelskin-esque jacket over a
red woollen jumper and black slacks. His upper body is festooned
with a Sydney Swans scarf and cap. He needs a walking stick. He
is not spry but his mind is still sharp. Dawes had family trouble
growing up and dropped out of school before graduating. He
found himself living on the street near Central Station, doing
what he could to cobble together the cash for alcohol; first wine,
then harder spirits, then the really hard stuff. With nothing to tie
him down, he travelled the continent, north to Alice Springs and
south to Hobart, falling more and more into alcohol’s thrall. When
he was last in Sydney, he stayed occasionally at the Matthew
Talbot Hostel, a St Vincent de Paul shelter for homeless men
in Woolloomooloo, or slept on the street. His travels took him
to Melbourne, where he found residence at Sambell Lodge, an
aged-care residence for socially disadvantaged people run by the
Brotherhood of St Laurence. But ever since his time at the hostel,
he had stayed away from Sydney. Until now.
22 agedcareinsite.com.au
Dawes (left) walks down towards Matthew Talbot
Hostel, for the first time in almost 20 years.
Brophy is a manager at Sambell. When he arrived, he noticed a
culture of older residents being shut off from the world, spending
most of their days in their rooms, emerging only for meals.
“The problem with many of these facilities is they tend to lock
up residents and never let them leave,” Brophy says. “We had one
resident who simply slept and ate in his room all day. I brought him
some clothes and some shoes so he could become more active.
I encouraged him to start some basic exercises and stretches and
to be more physically active. I encouraged him to watch the 6pm
news every night so he could get more cognitive action.”
This is part of Brophy’s aged-care mantra: to keep the residents
active and engaged with the world around them. That’s why when
he asked Dawes what his dream was, and the reply was “to return
to Sydney and see the Swans play”, he sprang into action.
“It was important for me to facilitate this trip to Sydney for Barry,”
Brophy explains. “After I heard Barry’s story, and the challenging
life that he had led, with a large part of that taking place in Sydney,
in various parts of the city from the Cross to the Matthew Talbot
Hostel, I felt the need to try to make it work for him – to make this
dream come true for Barry – to revisit the old stomping ground, if
you like, where he lived and where he did it tough.
“It really does sit with what we try to do at Sambell Lodge, and
that’s let residents live the dream they want.”
Although there was some red tape to negotiate – Dawes is a
state trustee, meaning his finances are managed on his behalf,
which caused a few headaches gaining access to funds – overall
the process was quite streamlined. Brophy noted that the Sydney
Swans had been accommodating in helping to arrange tickets.
Brophy’s mantra is “dare to dream, live the dream”. Dreams, he
says, are not in abundant supply in the aged-care industry.
“In aged and community care, we’re